Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share.

Targa Resources Trading Up 4.9 %

Targa Resources stock traded up $8.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.15. 1,712,953 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,648,699. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.24. Targa Resources has a 52-week low of $81.03 and a 52-week high of $189.62.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $153.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $153.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $157.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 12,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total transaction of $1,700,214.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,165,203.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 12,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total transaction of $1,700,214.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,165,203.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total transaction of $23,329,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,181,399.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 173,405 shares of company stock valued at $26,529,984. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.